Gone to the Dogs
by nowyouseemenowyoudont
Summary: Written for Amethyst's cynophobia challenge. Kagome has a fear that Sesshoumaru wants to erase, too bad he's part of the problem.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The young girl looked down at the light brown Chow who was staring back at her with a serious expression. Its leash was held in the hand of a tall demon with long silver hair cascading over his shoulders, he was watching the silent exchange with a regal eyebrow raised. His chow was not normally this sociable, if you could even call this strange staring competition sociable.

The girl was dressed in a kimono and the Yokai got the impression she had probably been on her way to the shrine a few streets away. Her eyes were molten brown and she wore an endearingly large gap toothed smile.

"Can I touch him?" the girl asked the Yokai, the first inclination she had made to realising the demon was even there.

Sesshoumaru and the Chow looked at each other for a while and Sesshoumaru raised a brow. The Chow let out a short bark and Sesshoumaru turned back to the girl "He does not mind"

"Cool" she said extending a hand politely to let the dog sniff it before she petted him. Sesshoumaru was amazed at her patience and understanding, most children just petted dogs without being courteous enough to allow the dog to scent them first.

The young girl had dropped to the dog's level and he took this to his advantage and licked her face. She didn't seem to mind and merely giggled before petting him some more.

"Child," he began

"Rin" she supplied without looking up from the Chow

"Where is your mother Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked

The little girl blinked and looked around expectantly "Rin!" a woman's frantic voice called out as a blue kimono wearing figure hurtled round the street corner. The woman had long wavy ebony hair that fell to her waist and huge emotive blue eyes that seemed to mimic a stormy sky.

She was breathtaking.

She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes fixed on the Chow her daughter was petting and Sesshoumaru was nearly knocked over backwards at the stench of pure terror that rolled off her in waves. The fragile woman looked as if she was about to faint from it.

"Stay here" Sesshoumaru commanded the Chow and catching the young girl's hand he dragged the unwilling child over to the woman.

She seemed to snap out of it slightly when he led her by her shoulder around the corner and pressed her daughter into her waist.

"Um...thanks for helping Rin" Kagome offered lamely her eyes darting back to the corner time and time again.

"This one merely allowed her to pet the Chow" he said gently, more gently than when he had talked to the child even. "Is it too much to presume that you are scared of dogs?"

"Scared is putting it mildly" she muttered rubbing her left hand over her right elbow.

"Perhaps I could help" he offered "I own a dog rehabilitation clinic, I am sure that given time you could get over the fear"

She looked up into his eyes and shook her head, laughing darkly "I doubt it"

"I am Sesshoumaru Taisho" he informed her "this is my card" he pressed it into her palm "if you do not wish to live your entire life in fear then please, call me"

With that he turned on his heel and walked away. She watched his silver hair until it flashed around the corner and he vanished.

"I liked him and his doggy, Okasan" Rin confided tugging on her mother's sleeve

"Yeah" Kagome muttered clasping her child's hand in hers she gave her a look that promised retribution. "And what have I told you about running off like that young lady?"

***

Kagome sat in the window of her mother's sitting room with a mug of coffee clasped in her pale hands and her forehead resting on the window pane. She watched her daughter run around the shrine grounds giggling hysterically and chatting animatedly to her great grandfather who was trying to help out with New Year's prayers and fortunes.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced up at her Souta her favourite and only younger brother before leaning back against him and smiling.

"She's sure happy" he commented

"Mmm" she mumbled wrinkling her nose slightly "I didn't think you were coming home for New Year"

"Mum was very convincing," he sighed "she's a natural in the art of unintentional guilt trips"

She smirked "Would you really have left us here all alone anyway?"

"No" he smiled "how are you?"

"Fine" there was a pause and she knew he wanted more from her. She could feel his brown eyes boring into the back of her head. "Another year I guess"

"Yeah" he rubbed her shoulder soothingly "but the only way we can possibly go is up"

She giggled at that "I'm supposed to be the eternal optimist in this family not you! Are you trying to usurp me?" she asked in mock suspicion as she prodded him in the chest

He backed away and held his hands out in a non threatening gesture before dropping a mocking bow to her "I would never dream of it dear sister"

She stuck her tongue out at him and he smiled cheekily back at her. She would go on, because she had to, because she had her family. Because of Rin.

Maybe she would take the stranger up on his offer after all. She was tired of fear; her irrational fear of dogs was something she could do something about. She was determined.

A little less fear had to be good for a girl.

***

Kagome looked up at the house with trepidation clearly visible in her eyes. She had never met a house so daunting, even though a certain part of her brain reminded her that this house was just like every other house on the street. Except it wasn't, because he lived there.

"I'm fine" she breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled sharply through her mouth "He promised that he wouldn't have any dogs here"

She looked back at the house and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Somehow her own words weren't as comforting as she would have liked them to be.

"Are you going to talk to yourself all day or are you going to come in?" the Yokai's amused voice made her jump with a little squeak into the air before she glared at him. He was stood in the door way to his house, leaning against the door jamb with his arms folded across his chest.

"Why'd you do that?" she demanded

"It's not my fault that you're painfully unobservant" he pointed out. She glared at him and he relented "Are you coming in or not?"

She followed him into the house and he ushered her into a sparsely decorated living room that housed an arm chair, a sofa and a grand piano. There was no television and there were no personal touches to the white room. It had the same sterile feel as a doctor's office. And there was no stench of dogs. That, at least, served to calm her slightly.

"So" he settled himself into the armchair and she perched herself on the edge of the sofa "what made you decide to call?"

"I guess it's like you said, I'd rather not live with my fear" she shrugged

"I wonder if you truly posses the nerve to see this through" his golden eyes bored into her own and she shuffled uncomfortably but answered with conviction.

"I do" she said fighting to keep her fingers still in her lap.

He could tell the woman was extremely nervous and realised abruptly that the technique of 'Flooding' probably wouldn't be the best approach on one so jittery. It would seem he would have to employ the systematic desensitisation approach.

"Is this fear you posses for dogs simply taught due to someone else's fear or did you once suffer a traumatic experience with dogs?" he asked

She chuckled darkly and pulled up the arm of her shirt so that it exposed her elbow. There was a gruesome scar of embedded teeth around the elbow. "Traumatic enough?" she asked

"Indeed," he said examining the bite closely "explain to me what happened exactly"

She glowered at him and sighed heavily "When I was younger my next door neighbour had a Pit-bull that didn't really like anyone very much." There was a pause as her gaze went unfocused and she gazed at a point over Sesshoumaru's shoulder. He interlocked his fingers and waited for her to return to the conversation patiently.

"One day my brother kicked his ball into the garden of the house next door. I went to get it for him, I thought that the dog was tied up but apparently it wasn't and when I stepped inside it bit down on my arm and refused to let go" she rubbed her temples and breathed in deeply through her nose

He nodded slightly "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being very and one being not really, how anxious are you when faced with dogs?"

"Ten" her answer was almost automatic in the speed of its delivery and he smirked slightly.

"And, in your opinion, how rational are you?" he queried

"Huh?"

"You are perfectly capable of understanding" he pointed out

She narrowed her eyes at him "I'm perfectly rational"

"Hn" he pursed his lips "we shall see"

"What do you mean?" she demanded

He ignored the hastily tossed question and went over to the coffee table. He picked up the simple white folder that rested there and flicked through it for a moment before sitting down, but this time he sat next to her on the sofa, so close that their knees brushed. She shuffled away and he fought down his smirk.

"Using the same scale as before would you care to tell me how anxious you become when you see this" he handed the human woman a large A4 photograph of a pit bull running through some kind of park. The tendons in its powerful legs were clearly visible, as were its teeth were the muzzle had pulled back. It looked as if it were lunging after something.

Her eyes widened fractionally as they became fixated on the muzzle of the dog before her, her hands were gripping the paper with perhaps more force than was strictly necessary. He listened intently for a moment as her heart beat picked up in speed and nodded.

"Seven, maybe" she whispered

"What is it about the picture that bothers you?" he asked

"The teeth, the fact that it's in motion?" it sounded like a question "I don't know" she dropped the picture and rubbed her arms with her hands as if she was cold.

"Do toy dogs encourage the same reaction?" he queried

The look she shot him was one of disdain "I am not completely foolish you know"

"Hn" he said and stood carefully. He brushed his impeccable clothes of non-existent fibres and exited the room.

Kagome breathed a sigh of reprieve at his departure and placed a palm over her still rapidly beating heart. Stupid heart.

He exploded back into the room, or at least it appeared that way to Kagome, and she nearly fell off her precarious perch on his sofa.

He walked over to her with his hands hidden behind his back and a small amused smirk on his face.

_Why's he doing this? The smiles make it seem as if he's just some twisted sadist and I'm here to satisfy his need to make someone squirm, but if that was the case surely he would have just thrown me into a cage of dogs? I'm so confused._

She watched him approach her with wary eyes. "What?"

"I want you to look after this for a week" he said he voice inviting no arguments. They glared at each other for a moment before he moved so fast she didn't even see it. Suddenly she was staring at the muzzle of some kind of dog.

She screamed.

He winced. "Calm yourself, it is a toy"

She rubbed away the tears that had collected at the corners of her eyes harshly and glared at the amazingly life like dog toy that he was presenting to her. It looked like any moment it would move. She stared at it uneasily for a while before he got impatient with just standing there and shoved it abruptly into her lap. He ignored the dirty look she shot his way.

"Can you handle this?"

"I've just got to take it with me?" it didn't sound so bad, she could put it in the cupboard under the stairs for a week and then bring it back.

He rolled his eyes at the hopeful look in her eyes. "No, you must keep it with you permanently."

"What?" she balked

"Sleep with it in your bed, when you eat put it on the table in front of you, when you read sit it upon your lap" he commanded

"What about work?" she demanded, surely he couldn't expected her to cart the stupid thing to work with her!

"At work, place this photograph upon your desk" he handed her a miniature version of the photo he had first presented her with inside a small silver frame.

She was shaking slightly at the enforced presence of the malignant toy and the feral picture. She glanced up at him with slight terror in her eyes.

"Tell me that you can do it" he said gazing directly into her eyes

"What?"

"Tell me"

"I can do it"

"That lacked the proper determination"

"Well I'm sorry if I don't want to sound like a fool!" she bit out

"Are you an optimist?"

"Yeah" she muttered

"Then you are probably constantly telling yourself everything will be fine" he said "this is no different, if you tell yourself you can do it then your mind will accept it as fact"

"Easy as that"

"Correct, humans often overcomplicate things" he sneered at her

She rolled her eyes and then blinked in shock as she realised he had briefly distracted her from the 'phantoms' in her hands for a moment.

"You will do well" he told her, nodding in a satisfied way.

"If you say so" she muttered

"I do say so, and this Sesshoumaru is never wrong" he glanced at the watch adorning his wrist "it would seem this session is over"

"Sesshoumaru-san" she said as she stood up, her voice was hesitant and he waved a hand for her to continue. "Why are you so confident?"

"Because you are rational" he informed her "your fear is simple; you associate dogs with the pain you received as a child and as such you respond to the adverse stimulus with fear." He shrugged lightly "but as a rational person when faced with the fight or flight scenario you seem to adhere more towards fight"

"But that's because they were just pictures" she said her lack of confidence in his assumptions clear in her tone.

"Which shows you are rational" he pointed out "and also determined to triumph, this means that there is a greater likelihood that you will succeed."

"I hope you are right" she smiled slightly at the unwavering confidence saturating his tone.

"Once again Higurashi-san I hasten to point out that I am always correct" he smirked very slightly.

"Thank you for your time" she held out a hand for him to shake and he clasped her slight hand in his larger clawed one. She glanced down at the claws in interest.

"Not to be rude," she said tremulously "but what type of demon are you?"

His eyes flickered for a moment before he answered "I am a Doku Yokai" he wasn't lying per say, but he wasn't being exactly truthful either.

She nodded slightly and he walked her out, watching as the small onna made her way home. He did not relish lying, but he knew that at this stage in their relationship knowing precisely what kind of Yokai he was would not be beneficial. Not at all.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha. Doku means poison in Japanese!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

"Momma, what are you doing?" the eight year old girl asked. She had entered the kitchen only to find her mother engaged in a staring competition with a scarily life-like stuffed-toy dog.

"Making friends with the dog" Kagome supplied

"She's crazy" Sango commented, she had picked Rin up from school due to Kagome's insistence that she had something to do but this was just weird.

"I'm trying to overcome my fear" she said

"The dog looks pretty real" her lifelong friend commented punching the toy lightly.

"Do you have to punch everything?" Kagome inquired

"Miroku is in America with work" Sango shrugged "so my punch bag of choice is out of reach"

"You still aren't allowed to hit my therapy" Kagome insisted.

"And how is this therapy?" Sango asked

"It's to try and get me used to dogs" Kagome shrugged

"Hmph" Sango frowned at the dog "you think it'll work?"

"I hope it will work" Kagome corrected "and he insists that it will work"

"He?"

"Sesshoumaru Taisho" Kagome shrugged "apparently he is a dog handler extraordinaire and wants to help out."

"I know that name" Sango said in surprise "he's the co-owner of the zoo"

"I thought Kouga-san owned the zoo" Kagome wrinkled up her nose in confusion

"He did but he got into some debt a while back and Sesshoumaru and his father Sugimi offered financial stability, Sugimi as the silent backer and Sesshoumaru as the partner. I have to say; working there has been a lot more relaxing since Sesshoumaru started to manage some affairs." She smirked "we haven't had nearly as many problems"

Sango worked at the zoo as head of the wild cat enclosure and loved her job, though she often mocked her arrogant boss Kouga.

"He seems to be inexplicably confident in me" Kagome frowned drumming her fingers against the table top.

"He's just confident all round" Sango shrugged settling herself on the table cross legged. Anyone else would never have done such a thing, fearing it impolite in someone's house to sit upon their table. But Sango had never been one to sit on furniture conventionally. "his confidence attracts women like bee's to honey. You should see the fan club that materialises whenever he deigns to step foot in the zoo, some of them are old enough to know better"

"But if the man is a demon then he's really old" Rin pointed out and the two adults turned to look at the little girl in shock; they had almost forgotten she was there. The child picked up the apple she had pilfered from the fruit bowl and bid a strategic retreat to the living room. Within seconds they heard the unmistakeable sounds of after school cartoons.

"I guess so" Sango said in regards to Rin's last comment "but to be honest the trails of drool that the fan club produces are not exactly pleasurable to clean up after"

Kagome laughed at that "It can't be that bad!"

"It is" Sango said shortly "it's like they all lose any sense they once had and turn into mindless, clucking chickens"

"He is good looking I suppose, but still" Kagome fixed Sango with a gimlet stare "are you sure you aren't exaggerating?"

Sango grinned "You know me too well" she twirled a long strand of brown hair around a finger. "but why's he helping you?"

"I think he realised how afraid I am" Kagome shrugged

Sango rolled her eyes "And name one man that helps a girl out of purely the goodness of his heart, he wants something and I have a feeling it's inside those blue panties of yours"

Kagome blinked in shock a few times before fixing her friend with a shrewd look "And how in the hell do you know what colour my underwear is?"

***

_Blood. Pain. Tears. Growling. The intensity of it building up until the pain is strangely numb, until the sounds of Souta screaming are warped and distant. Until the only things she is aware of are those teeth and her arm crunching. Blood pouring, flesh tearing, tears falling. No sounds. And then she looked up into the eyes of her tormentor and her heart stopped beating. There was no intelligence there, just the brutal understanding that she was not getting away. _

_And so she screamed._

Kagome sat bolt upright in bed and cursed every god she could think of. Her back was clammy with sweat and her face sticky with the tears she had cried in her sleep. She flopped back down onto the bed and curled into the foetal position staring at the pillow next to her. The dog that she had been given was there and she threw it away savagely, something she was not normally prone to.

Those dreams that only he could banish, but he wasn't there anymore.

She felt a few more tears leak out at that and roughly wiped them away with the back of her hand. She had to stop crying. She had to.

"Momma?" Rin whispered as the bedroom door opened slightly. He child was thrown into relief by the moonlight drifting in through her bedroom windows.

"What's wrong Rin-chan?" Kagome pulled herself together and turned on the soft bedside lamp. It filled the room with a soothing ruby hue and she smiled at her daughter.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Rin asked blearily

"I'm fine" Kagome smiled, though she was pretty sure her daughter couldn't see it.

Rin padded over to the bed in bare feet and climbed in. She wrapped herself in her mother's arms and tucked her warm face into her neck, Kagome shivered as Rin's cold feet came into contact with her bare legs.

"Thank you Rin-chan" Kagome murmured, but the small child was already asleep. She smiled and rested her chin on top of the small child's head as she stroked her back.

Maybe he wasn't the only one who could make the nightmare's go away.

***

"So?" he asked carefully

She gave him a look.

"How did you fare?" he asked. They were back in Sesshoumaru's living room for their next session and they were both in bad moods.

"The toy seriously did not help with the nightmare's" she informed him

"You have nightmare's?" he asked raising a brow "why was I not made aware of this?"

"You didn't ask" she shrugged

He glared at her and she stared innocently back at him until he relented "These nightmare's are they recurring or do they change?"

"They are recurring, the incident when I was... when it happened is repeated" she rubbed her scarred arm reflexively.

"Have you always had them?" he asked "do they happen every night?"

"Ever since it happened" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair "and just after the... incident they happened every night, but now they mostly happen if I'm stressed or upset"

"Is there anything in particular that helps?" he enquired

"...no, nothing" at least, there isn't any more "sometimes it helps to sleep with Rin"

"Your daughter" he nodded "she holds no fear for dogs"

"No, she doesn't, we were very careful about making sure she never picked it up" Kagome shrugged

"We? I was under the impression you were single" he asked

"I am widowed" she chuckled darkly "not that you can even call it that, he died before we actually got married."

"I am sorry" he said

"Are you?" she asked and he gazed into her eyes. It was there, that shadow that was left behind when love was lost. She had felt it too, that pain.

"I am" he said and she shivered as his eyes became reflective. He had felt the same pain as she had.

"Sorry" she whispered

"It was a long time ago" he said

She gave another dark chuckle "But that doesn't make it any better"

"You are correct" she bowed her head and he cleared his throat "perhaps we should return to the main point of this meeting" he said

"Yeah" she said smiling

"You seem to be more comfortable around the dog" he pointed out

"I do?" she was incredulous and then she followed his gaze, she was absentmindedly stroking the toy dog in her lap. "Funny, I was always more of a cat person"

He made a noise of derision and she chuckled properly this time.

"I take it you are not fond of cats" she said

"Not in the slightest" he glanced down at the toy and pursed his lips "I—"

The phone rang, cutting him off and he cursed as he opened it "Speak" he scowled when the voice on the other end spoke "are you incompetent? I'll be there in five minutes"

"What was that?" she asked

"I help run the zoo" he offered as he stood and grabbed his coat "and apparently the idiot who works for me has managed to loose a small child from the school group"

"The school group?" she demanded

"Yes" he sighed and looked frustrated for a moment

"I'm coming with you" she stood up and pulled her own coat on

"Excuse me?" he asked

"There is a lost child somewhere in that zoo of yours Sesshoumaru-san, I wouldn't be a mother if I didn't want to help" she started to push the bewildered demon out of the door and, due to his shock, he let her.

***

She had met a bewildered Sango at the zoo and they had hastily split from Sesshoumaru to cover the cat enclosure. But after half an hour of fruitless searching and hollering for the child their searches had yielded nothing and the airwaves were silent over Sango's walkie-talkie.

They came to the zebra pen and split up, Kagome taking the track that would lead around the pen and eventually to the elephants and Sango took the route that would lead to the exits.

"Kanna!" Kagome yelled "Kanna?"

People were looking at her funny but she didn't really care, in fact she was a bit annoyed at the less than subtle glances she was greeting. It was plaintively obvious she was trying to find someone, was there really a need to stare at her?

"Kanna?" she nearly fell over something and was caught by a pair of strong arms.

She looked up into icy blue eyes and realised that her rescuer was so close she was going cross eyed. She pulled back slightly to take in the fanged smirk that was kind of... lecherous.

"Hello there beautiful" he practically purred into her ear

"Um hi" she would have escaped by now except he had caught her at an awkward angle and was supporting all of her weight. She wasn't sure she could get out of his hold anyway.

She glanced down at what she had tripped over and noticed a child's white shoe. Glancing around quickly she spotted a small girl, deathly pale wearing the school uniform she had been told to look out for. She had short white hair and her dark eyes were fixed on the zebra grazing in front of her. She was missing both shoes and her socks, like she preferred being bare foot.

"Can you let me up?" she asked

"And why would I do that? When I've finally got you where I want you?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows in a way that reminded her of Miroku.

"Because the lost child is behind you" she pointed out

He immediately set her to her feet and walked over to the child. He began to yell at her for getting lost but Kagome didn't hear it.

Because it was unimportant.

The important thing was the tail. This man who had stopped her from falling on her face was very obviously sporting a long brown tail. It swished from side to side as he talked.

Her brain shut down and her limbs locked in place. Her heart was beating so fast it was almost painful and tears formed a glassy film over her eyes. she was breathing like she had been submerged under water for years and though her entire body was still her hands were trembling.

Dog.

Worse, dog demon.

"Kagome?" a deep soothing voice questioned, and suddenly she was submerged inside the soft yet unrelenting grip of someone. She didn't know who, the only thing she knew was that being inside these arms was so familiar it hurt. It reminded her of the safety she had felt before in another's arms. But this was tangibly different.

This saviour was taller, stronger and more secure. She tensed as she realised, as much as she wanted to deny it, she felt safer in the arms of this man that she had in his arms. The tears which had formed over her eyes fell freely now, and she had no idea what she was crying for.

"Kagome"

Sesshoumaru. She recognised the voice the same time her legs gave out and her hands reached up to fist in the front of his shirt, clinging to him as if she would never let him go she sobbed again. Sobbed because of her fear, sobbed because of these arms, sobbed because she was a traitor. To feel like this with any other man made her wicked and she let out a tortured cry that nearly made Sesshoumaru collapse under the weight of it.

And what made it worse were his arms tightening in response and the soft smoothing of her hair. Because she liked it.

The noise of her crying increased.

Sesshoumaru had never been very good at dealing with crying women. And yet he found himself in this situation purely on the whims of his long forgotten instincts demanding that she be comforted. The stench of her fear had made him hug her and he had never hugged anyone, save for his mother, before. But when she had begun to cry he had nearly lost it, some deep and primal part of him agonised at the scent of her tears. But he had no idea on how to make her stop. So he held her, stroked her hair and prayed. He'd never prayed before either.

***

"I'm sorry" Kagome said sleepily. Apparently she had cried herself out and was now falling asleep in the passenger seat of Sesshoumaru's car. She kept nuzzling the chair as she tried to get comfortable and he smirked slightly.

"It is fine" he wasn't going to press her for details; she might start crying again, he wasn't sure if he could handle that.

She chuckled softly at his expression and yawned hugely "I really... am ...sorry" she murmured before she actually fell asleep leant against the seat in his car.

He smiled a small smile and carefully tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. He wasn't sure why he cared for this woman, but he did and he was pretty sure nothing was going to change that.

He pulled up outside the small house she had given the address to and climbed out of the car. As he opened the passenger door he pondered waking her to let her walk to the house on her own but decided against it and instead scooped her from the seat and cradled her to his chest.

He didn't even need to knock on the door before it was opened and he looked down into the familiar eyes of the girl, Rin, who had befriended his Chow.

She gave a questioning glance towards her mother.

"She is sleeping" he said softly so as not to wake her "where is her bedroom?"

"Oh my god!" a female voice screeched and he almost rolled his eyes at the woman who appeared from what was apparently the sitting room. "What did you do to her? Let her go!"

"Sango?" a bleary Kagome asked as she cracked open an eye to look at her friend

"Kagome!" Sango yelped "are you okay?"

"Mmm, just sleepy" Kagome yawned and snuggled back into Sesshoumaru's embrace- not that in her sleep befuddled state she realised who was holding her "please be quiet" and she promptly fell back asleep.

Sango did an excellent goldfish impression at her best friend and glanced at Sesshoumaru.

"Where is her room?" he asked

Sango was about to answer but Rin cut in "I'll show you" she said quietly smiling at the demon.

Sango, watching the three of them head up the stairs, conceded that there was obviously something more to Sesshoumaru than she had first thought. Which was creepy in and of its self. She rubbed her temples.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Kagome glanced down at Rin who looked back up at her with trusting eyes and a happy smile. Sesshoumaru had requested another meeting two weeks after she had fallen asleep on him, only this time he had requested Rin's attendance.

He had not been lenient on her whilst he had not seen her, rather he had left her posters of dogs to put up all over her house and a few more, even more grotesquely lifelike, toys. He had even stopped by in passing to give her posters of a dog that had gone missing in her neighbourhood and commanded her to put up posters. She had been miffed, but after receiving puppy dog eyes from Rin she had conceded.

He hadn't been available to give her another session in the three weeks due to a huge influx of dogs into his centre. His rehabilitation centre was relatively small and he had been working on expanding the ground units so that he could fit them in. Though he had kept calling to check on her progress he had not met her in person for a while.

The door was pulled back and they were greeted by Sesshoumaru wearing a slightly exhausted but satisfied expression with his hair pulled back into a loose braid.

"Kagome" he nodded to her and quirked a small smile in Rin's direction which she returned whole heartedly.

"Hi, how are the renovations going?" she asked as he led them into his home and took Rin's coat from her.

"They are well in hand" he shrugged

"You're building a new home for the dogs right?" Rin asked

"Correct" he nodded and led them to a different room in the house that he had never met Kagome in before.

This room was still as frigidly white as his living room had been but it was obviously meant as a place for relaxation. There was an advanced looking music system, a slim and stylish television and a neat bar in this room along with a sofa that looked impossibly soft; if you sat on it, it would eat you.

"Today I needed a more relaxed atmosphere" he said calmly motioning for them to sit on the cushy sofa. "Which is why I invited Rin"

"Okay" Kagome hedged

"You have grown accustomed to being around likenesses of dogs and still pictures of dogs" he stated "but today we will be purposely watching films with dogs in them. I will try to differentiate between films where the dog is depicted in a friendly, humorous manner—"

"Like Lassie!" Rin interjected with excitement

"Yes." He acknowledged the child "and also more factual films about dog behaviour and some documentaries about dogs in general"

He had been watching as Kagome seized up in anticipation of what was to come, not to mention her heart rate was through the roof, she wasn't breathing either.

"Breathe, Kagome" Sesshoumaru ordered

She snapped out of it, startled slightly by the harshness of his command and rubbed her hands together anxiously in her lap. Rin burrowed into her mother's side in sympathy and stroked her hip gently. Almost absentmindedly Kagome began to stroke Rin's hair in return, the action calming her down somewhat.

"Thus far you have coped exceedingly well and hopefully this will serve to desensitize you more so than you already are" he said, his voice was still emotionless but his tone was softer and less condescending.

The first movie was a sappy flick about a dog and its human family. Designed to appeal to children and provide some entertainment for adults. Kagome was incredibly tense and Sesshoumaru repeatedly had to force her to look back at the screen when she would look away. But as the film drew to a close Kagome had calmed down slightly; no her pulse wasn't back to normal and she wasn't exactly relaxed in posture but she no longer looked ready to bolt either.

The next film would provide slightly more trying. It was a film about a small girl adopting a stray dog that had been abused, subsequently making it angry and aggressive. It all ended happily but Sesshoumaru wanted to ease Kagome into the more savage side of dogs. He was hoping that her empathetic side would understand the hurt the dog had been through and calm down that way.

This time her reaction was more violent. She had tensed up very badly and dug her fingers into her arms hard enough to make herself bleed and bit down on her lip too. Sesshoumaru, who was sat on the other side of her on the sofa, prised her hands away from her arms and captured them within his own so she could not hurt herself.

There was a particular scene in the movie when the dog had a growling, snapping, barking fit and at this point Kagome began to cry and struggle to get free so she could leave. He responded by holding her firmly in her seat and forcing her to continue viewing whilst murmuring his support in her ear.

To most his actions would have seemed deplorable; after all forcing someone to endure something that made them that scared was not normally acceptable behaviour. But he needed her to accept it and relax, eventually she would calm down and realise that she was fine, that there was no threat and that nothing had happened. But until then he had to just grin and bear it.

Eventually, after much soothing on Sesshoumaru's part and via Rin, Kagome calmed down enough to stop crying and shuddering. By the end of the film she was crying again, but this time because the dog had died a tragic death helping the little girl. This, Sesshoumaru felt, was a step in the right direction; after all it had to be good if she was feeling empathy for something that scared her.

The final video, he knew, would be a true test of her nerve and he knew it would probably not do for the child to see it. He sent her into his office to play on his computer and the girl had grinned and asked if maybe she could go and play in the garden instead. He had acquiesced and watched as she talked to his late mothers rose bushes.

Kagome had tensed up so much when he had sent Rin away that he wondered if she was petrifying before his very eyes. He gently stroked her shoulder and got her to relax somewhat before playing this last movie. It was a documentary on the habits of dingoes and he knew that whilst it contained some moments that were endearing, such as pups playing it also contained footage of the pack hunting a calf. That, he understood, would be truly the greatest challenge.

Her reactions to the hunting scene had been as imagined, she had tensed yet again and he had restrained her hands to stop her from harming herself. As the powerful teeth of the dingo cut into the sinew of the calf Kagome wrenched herself from his group and tried to leave the room. He caught her and pulled her back into the sofa, this time sitting her on his lap and holding her tightly whilst whispering that it was okay, that she was okay, that she needed to calm down and relax. He could not hug her, much as he might want to, nor offer her more comfort than he was doing because that would create the learned response that fear was acceptable.

She calmed down throughout the documentary but didn't relax her body. But at least she wasn't crying anymore.

When it was finished he gently embraced her and rocked her back and forth soothingly.

"I am sorry for that Kagome" he murmured

"It's okay" she stuttered

"It was a valid necessity though" he said rubbing soothing circles on her back "through watching dogs in such a manner you become desensitized to them enough that it becomes more bearable. I doubt you can deny that you felt slightly more comfortable as the films progressed"

"Yeah"

"That is because you are rational enough to realise, past your learned terror, that you were not experiencing pain and as such you were able to calm yourself slightly" he said

"Right"

"I needed to show you dogs being viscous like that Kagome because dogs can be vicious, but it generally for a reason, either they have been abused or are defending their pack. But what is most important is the knowledge you must hold that I will never let a dog that would harm you anywhere near you" he declared

"Thank you" she breathed leaning her head against his chest.

"It is okay, Kagome" he said

"I feel safe with you, for some reason..." she trailed of and blushed at what had come out of her mouth.

He smiled slightly, not that she could see it with the way her face was pressed into his chest "That is good, otherwise I doubt you would let me do this to you"

***

Kagome glanced down at the homework she had been given, a few family films revolving around dogs and one nature documentary she had been assured was less brutal than the one she had been subjected to at Sesshoumaru's house. She couldn't help but be cautious though, no matter what Sesshoumaru said about her progress she was still nervous.

Sango was waiting for her in her own kitchen and she rolled her eyes. Giving her the key to the house had perhaps not been the best of ideas.

"So" Sango mused twirling a carrot from the vegetable drawer at Kagome "spill all"

"On what?" Kagome asked pulling her scarf off and depositing her coat on the hook.

"It's tall, sexy silver haired and has smouldering eyes" Sango grinned

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome raised a brow

The grin grew wider "Actually I was talking about his half-brother Inuyasha, but if you think Sesshoumaru is sexy and has smouldering eyes, maybe we should move on to him"

Kagome smacked herself in the forehead "Nothing much to tell"

"You've got to be kidding me" Sango pointed the carrot at her for emphasis "he carries you home from the zoo, offers to try and cure your phobia for free and you think he's sexy. Give me one good reason why you shouldn't jump his bones"

"You're a sex fiend you know that?" Kagome asked sitting down with a thump on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

"Miroku" Sango said, as if it was an explanation "but I'm still waiting for that reason"

Kagome smiled a sad smile and rested her chin on her hands "Because I'm not even sure what I feel towards him" she sighed

"You think he's sexy?" Sango asked nibbling on the edge of her carrot.

"Anyone with eyes knows he's sexy" Kagome pointed out.

"So the problem is?" Sango prompted, waving her carrot in circles.

"He makes me feel safe" Kagome murmured "and that makes me feel guilty"

Sango dropped her carrot and her interrogation and frowned at her friend "It's been five years honey"

"I know" she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Look," Sango sighed "you think he'd want you to wallow in this grief all your life? He'd want you to find someone else who would make you feel safe. He never asked you to remain alone all your life"

Kagome shuddered.

_Promise me. Promise me you'll find someone to share your life with again. You have to promise me that, Kagome._

"It feels like, even though he told me to move on... that he only said that for me and now I'm betraying him" Kagome whispered

"He was selfless enough to mean that Kagome." Sango sighed and gently stoked her friend's hair "but you're martyr enough to ignore it and live alone. But it's not good for you, maybe now it's time to move on somewhat, you'll never forget him but there's always more room in that heart of yours"

"I hope you're right" Kagome murmured

"That's good" Sango smiled slightly "at least you have hope"

Because sometimes, that's all it takes.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

It had been three weeks since the movies had been watched at Sesshoumaru's house and every week he had called her back and got her to watch more of them. He tried different types of films, all with dogs in them and asked her to note down when her dreams happened. Embarrassingly enough she found that on the days of therapy and the days when he called her she would never have a dream.

"What are we doing today?" she asked glancing up at him as she settled herself onto the sofa in his front room, the room that he had originally introduced her to. This, she deduced, meant that there would be no movies.

"Today I wanted to reflect on what you think you have accomplished so far" he said sitting down next to her

"Okay" she mused "what do you want to know?"

"How would you feel if you had to watch another film with a dog in it?" he asked

"I'm still kinds tense, but I calm down a lot as it progresses" she shrugged "because I know it's not going to hurt me"

"Good" he nodded "that means we are making progress"

"I think I've just gotten used to it" she shrugged again

"That was what I was aiming for" he nodded "if you become accustomed to seeing dogs on television and on posters then hopefully you will eventually be able to cope with seeing them on the streets without having to run away or cross the road"

"Gee, thanks" she muttered

"I wanted to—" the phone rang, cutting off whatever Sesshoumaru was going to say, he resisted the urge to growl and got up to answer it.

He came back into the room awhile later to discover Kagome looking at the photo's of his parents on the fireplace.

"Your mother?" she asked

"Yes" he nodded

"Is she the one you lost?" she asked slowly, the tone of voice he used hinting towards his loss.

"Yes" he sighed "my mother died whilst in child birth with me, the photos I have of her are from when she and my father were courting"

"I am sorry" she said softly

He rested his hand on her shoulder for a brief moment "I know"

She changed the subject "Who called?"

"It was the zoo" he rolled his eyes "Kouga seems incapable of doing anything right and forgot to organise passes for the latest school trip"

"Kouga?" she asked "Sango said he was a handful"

Sesshoumaru snorted "He is a bungling idiot" he proclaimed

She chuckled.

"You met him last time you were there" he murmured in a more subdued tone

Her eyes grew wide "The dog demon?"

Sesshoumaru looked taken aback "He is a wolf demon, not a dog demon"

She shrugged "Same thing"

Sesshoumaru heroically bit down on the urge to growl at her for comparing a dog demon with a wolf demon.

"Do you hold a fear of demons?" he asked

She shook her head "I'm not afraid of you am I? I just don't like anything remotely to do with dogs"

He almost winced at that revelation. He was getting attached to the human, much as he had attempted to lead a life of solitude.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" he asked, he hadn't meant to say it but he truly wanted to spend more time with the woman when he wasn't fulfilling his promise to help her.

She blinked a few times and her mouth opened to refuse him "Sure"

She blinked again, what happened to refusing him? She'd always refused all propositions made by males since he had died and now here she was accepting one.

He smiled slightly and she smiled in return "Where to?" he asked

She grinned "You suggested it, so you pick"

***

"Where are we?" she asked as he pulled his car up outside a huge apartment complex.

"This is the building my mother owned when she was alive" he said "it belongs to me now and I rent apartments out, it helps the centre out greatly"

"So why are we here?" she asked in confusion

"The garden on top of the building is where we are eating" he said reaching in the back and she was startled to discover two bentos.

"Picnic?" she queried

"Does that bother you?" he asked as he stepped from the car and opened the door for her

"Not really" she said as he helped her out "but I can't really see you making lunches"

He raised a brow "I am an independent Yokai am I not? I am no longer a pup unable to care for myself"

"Sorry" she grinned "it's still hard to picture you in an apron, cooking"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and led her through the lobby of the building to the elevator.

When they came to the top of the building Kagome bit back a gasp of awe. He heard it anyway and smiled a small, satisfied smile.

It was beautiful. A small garden paradise elevated beyond everyone else, giving it a secluded faraway feel.

The roof was covered in thick plant life in varying colours, though in the beginning of March not many of the flowers were in bloom. The flower beds were curved in arcs that formed a circles getting smaller until it surrounded a small elevated decking area affixed with an outdoor kotasu and an arch of ivy.

"Wow" she whispered "is the kotasu always there?"

"No, I had it put up here so that we wouldn't be cold" he said leading her through the circular maze of plants and helping her up onto the platform.

She sat down gracefully at the kotasu and arranged the blanket around herself smiling when she realised it had a built in heater underneath. As he unpacked the bentos she glanced out at the city.

"It's beautiful up here" she mused

"It's better when the sun is setting" he said handing her the food "but I'd agree that it is beautiful"

She smiled and took the chopsticks offered to her and plucked out a fried shrimp and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes widened and she looked at him in shock. He raised a brow at her.

"This is really good!" she enthused when she had swallowed

"I am glad you think so" he nodded "I followed my mother's recipe"

She glanced around again before quickly snagging another shrimp "why don't you live in this building?" she asked and then blushed slightly "not that I'm insulting your home or anything..."

"It is fine" he waved it off "this building has a no animal policy and I have dogs"

"But isn't it your building, couldn't you change that?" she asked tilting her hair to one side

He shrugged "Many of the patrons who lived here didn't want animals to be allowed and I didn't see it necessary, after all most humans cannot clean up after their animals and their living spaces generally begin to smell" he wrinkled his nose "it is most distasteful"

"So you're telling me demons can get rid of the scents of their animals?" she looked amazed

He gave her a look "I have three dogs living in my home Kagome, do you smell them?"

"Um... no"

"Then your question is answered" he concluded

"How do you do that?" she asked

He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and spilt soy sauce on to it. "This is in the same principle, my youki purges everything from the area" she watched as the stain slowly disappeared from the edges in.

"How does it work?" she demanded

He shrugged "I do not know the exact science behind it, just that any Yokai can overpower any scent or blemish using their youki. It is the same principle as when monks and Miko's used to purify demons, only the youki is harnessed to erase imperfections" he smiled wryly "not that it was designed for that"

"What was it designed for?" she asked curiously

"Back in the days where Yokai were predators and Yokai would prey on the pups of other Yokai it was necessary to purge scent from a trail so that no one could scent them"

"Oh" she blinked in surprise "Yokai used to eat baby Yokai?"

"Scavenger Yokai will eat anything" he shrugged "back in the old days pups were killed to weaken the chance of the pack's survival and of course there are Yokai who absorb other Yokai and gain their powers"

"Oh" she repeated "sounds a lot different from nowadays"

He smirked "Nowadays it is the strongest intellectuals that triumph and all battles are fought in the business world. Unless, of course, one is a lesser Yokai who prefers to dwell on turf wars" he narrowed his eyes in distaste.

She laughed lightly "I take it you do not view them very highly"

"Yokai who rely to freely on their baser instincts are moronic" he quipped

She nodded "I can understand that, but don't Yokai often state that humans rely too little on their instincts?"

"It is simply a matter of finding the balance" he stated

"But of course" she nodded and grinned "how old are you?" she mused; if he had knowledge of the ancient Yokai how old was he really?

"Too old" he shrugged "after you reach four hundred years you stop counting for the sake of your sanity"

"Did you ever mate?" she found it hard to believe that this Yokai had lived alone for so long,

"The females that tried to entice me were mostly insipid" he said "it was more relaxing to simply be alone"

She looked down at the table top and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear "I wouldn't call it relaxing"

He glanced at her and sighed "No, neither would I"

***

Delivering her home was a quiet affair. Each party unwilling to have the evening come to an end but both unsure of their boundaries.

"Thank you for the meal" she said smiling and rubbing her hand over her elbow. She felt kind of insecure and cursed her hormones as they temporarily turned her back into a teenager.

"It was my pleasure Kagome" he nodded

"Well... um... goodnight I guess" Kagome smiled softly and went to put her key in the lock when a voice spouted from the window directly above the porch

"Kiss her idiot!"

Kagome thunked her head against the door. Great, it seemed Miroku was back from his little trip and had come to help Sango with the babysitting.

"Who was that?" Sesshoumaru raised a brow in question

"Sango's perverted boyfriend Miroku" she gave a quiet laugh "if you will excuse me now Sesshoumaru I have to commit a murder"

He chuckled softly and she marvelled in the sound as he took advantage of her absorption to slowly lean down and kiss her on the edge of her jaw bone. Her eyes widened in shock and fascination as her vision became obscured by a curtain of silvery hair. He inhaled gently from the jaw bone down the ivory column of her throat and she shivered as his warm breath ghosted over her skin.

"Good bye, Kagome" he smirked at her bewildered expression and melted into the darkness.

The purr of the car's engine alerted her to his absence and Kagome sighed and decided to go and play 'slap the voyeur' with Miroku.

Sesshoumaru inhaled again in the confines of his car. The vehicle had become saturated with her unique unnameable scent and it was somehow unbearably exciting and yet relaxing at the same time.

An Inu demon, as he was, picked a potential mate based on many factors, but scent was important and her scent was almost deadly to him.

Sighing, he cursed as the cut of his pants became uncomfortable. This was going to get old soon.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

It smelt of meadows of old, when plants were able to grow freely and untamed by humans. The entire shop was plastered with flowers, in every available nook and cranny the multicoloured blossoms preened and glittered. The sunlight drifted lazily through the embossed glass of the front of the shop that proclaimed Kagome's ownership of the property.

Kagome handed over the small bouquet of tulips to the shy looking teenager who had requested them, and smiled at his blush as he handed over his money.

"Thank you" she smiled at him as he avoided her eyes and bolted from the shop.

She loved it when teenagers came into the shop, they were so funny. Then there were the hopeless romantics, the people who wanted to decorate, the late anniversary buyers, the cheating husbands and the more sombre funeral flower buyers.

"That was cute" Ayame, the other shop attendant, noted

"The teenagers always are" Kagome giggled

"You think he'll give them to her?" Ayame mused

"Hopefully, and who said it was a her?" Kagome raised an eyebrow

Ayame stuck her tongue out at her friend. "So how is your phobia treatment going?" she asked silently hoping she was progressing. Ayame hated to have to hide her identity as a wolf Yokai from her friend and employer. She was hoping that Sesshoumaru wanted it as badly as everyone else seemed to want it for Kagome. She was a good person who had dealt with her fair share of tragedies and everyone wanted her to accomplish this. They wanted her to become less afraid.

"I think it's going good" Kagome shrugged and then blushed at the thought of her latest encounter with her demon friend.

"Did you just blush?" Ayame was intrigued; her boss was not normally one for blushing.

"No" Kagome denied, even though the evidence was still prominent on her cheekbones.

"Right" Ayame stretched the word out in her disbelief.

Kagome rolled her eyes "Drop it" she advised

"No way!" Ayame became animated "Who's the lucky guy?"

"No one" Kagome denied as she carefully arranged a bouquet that had been requested for a birthday present.

"It wouldn't be that demon who's helping you with your phobia by any chance?" Ayame prodded

"You're nearly as bad as Sango" Kagome criticised and Ayame giggled.

"So there is something going on, Sango's noticed it too!" she pounced

Kagome rolled her eyes again "At that moment Ayame, it's all just fantasy"

***

Sesshoumaru followed his brothers scent through the centre until he opened the door of one of the cages that housed a pregnant Akita. Who, judging by the smell, was no longer quite so pregnant.

"How many in the litter?" Sesshoumaru asked

"Six including the runt" Inuyasha said shrugging

"The runt is well?" he asked

"Yeah, sorta, he'll be okay if we keep him watched" the half demon nodded

"Very well, wean the others off the mother as soon as possible and put them up for adoption" Sesshoumaru nodded at his newly formed plan "then I'll take the runt and the bitch home"

"Don't you already have like five dogs?" Inuyasha was incredulous

"Three" Sesshoumaru corrected "and I did not ask for your opinion"

"It's for that girl you're hung up on right?" Inuyasha asked "what's so special about her anyway?"

Unsurprisingly his input went ignored and he was left in the cage on his own.

Bastard.

***

"Are we going to watch more movies?" Rin ambushed Sesshoumaru as soon as he opened his door and he almost chuckled but settled with a small, microscopic smile.

It had been two months of therapy and now Sesshoumaru was enthusiastic with her progress, or at least as enthusiastic as he ever was. He deemed her more able around dogs. She could handle walks in the park without panicking when she gazed upon dogs. She still tensed up but she was able to walk past without hyperventilating.

"We are not going to watch movies but I am confident that you will enjoy yourself Rin" Sesshoumaru said calmly as he led them into the living room with the piano.

"A few months ago I adopted a new bitch and her latest litter runt" he said as they sat down on the sofa "I thought that the best way to allow you to familiarise yourself with dogs would be to meet a barely weaned pup"

"A dog?" Kagome was rigid and her hands gripped her knees so tightly that her knuckles turned staunch white.

"A puppy" he said calmly "a tiny puppy, an Akita. It looks more like a teddy bear" he wondered if he'd ever said the words 'teddy bear' before, but decided that was irrelevant.

She almost giggled at his attempt at humour but as she was paralysed due to fear it sounded more like she was choking.

""We get to meet a puppy?" Rin was obviously excited and bouncing up and down on the sofa.

"Correct" Sesshoumaru directed his attention back to Kagome "would you rather I brought the puppy in here or would you like to walk into the room"

"Here" she replied, mainly because she didn't think she could move but also because she was already facing something she was fearful of; she didn't need to have to face the possibility of the unknown as well.

"Very well" he said sanding to leave, he paused at the doorway "You will be fine, Kagome"

"We get to see a puppy Momma!" Rin enthused

"Yeah" Kagome managed a weak smile in the direction of her daughter.

"Relax yourself" Sesshoumaru ordered from outside the door

"Easy for you to say" Kagome muttered

"The fact that you can be acerbic is encouraging" he muttered "I'm coming in"

He slowly walked into the room, each move calculated and steady. The sleepy pup in his arms lifted its sandy coloured head to sniff at the room but made no move to try and wriggle free. He had made a good choice in pups, this one was obedient to its alpha and generally sedate if insatiably curious.

Kagome's eyes fixed upon the sleepy looking thing in Sesshoumaru's arms. He was right, it did look like a teddy bear and its sedate mannerisms furthered her steadily calming pulse.

"It's a teddy bear!" Rin gushed bounding off the sofa and hopping over to Sesshoumaru.

"Hn" he said his eyes gaining a happy twinkle as she hopped at the puppy "Would you like to hold him?"

"Yeah!" she nodded so enthusiastically she reminded him briefly of a bobble headed dog.

He carefully relinquished his hold on the pup and arranged him in Rin's arms.

"He's heavy" she mumbled and she rubbed her face on his head

"He got larger fast" he nodded "used to be the runt, still a little smaller than his litter brothers and sister but growing quite well considering."

Kagome watched the small dog snuffle her daughter and give a little yip before settling onto her shoulder.

"I think it likes you" Sesshoumaru nodded to Rin who grinned back. "Kagome?"

"Yeah?" she murmured eyes still fixed on the pup

"Are you okay?" he asked

"I'm not sure" she muttered

"Rin, stay over that side of the room until I tell you otherwise" Sesshoumaru warned the small child

Kagome nodded spasmodically in agreement. She had a feeling that one of the reasons she was so calm was because of the distance between her and the dog.

"Okay" Sesshoumaru said "I want you to calm down, breathe evenly, try and lower your heart rate, also being able to move without running would be good"

"Right" she nodded slowly and focused on remembering that not only was Sesshoumaru there, but her daughter was cuddling it and calling it a 'teddy bear'.

"Scale of one to ten?" he enquired

"Five, maybe" she said

"That's good" he nodded "try to rationalise the situation"

She nodded and concentrated on ignoring the part of her that wanted to run for the hills. She looked at the puppy, it was tinny and all it seemed to do was snuffle and occasionally lick at Rin who giggled and petted the pup. It hadn't made a hostile move and that calmed her down some. After ten minutes she nodded to Sesshoumaru.

"I'm fine" she said stretching out her stiff muscles slightly.

He could tell she was still wary of the dog but she was also obviously trying to calm down and was impressed by her progress and determination.

"Rin move closer slightly" he commanded and watched as the girl moved slightly closer. And watched as Kagome tensed up again as the perceived threat moved closer. "Calm yourself"

They repeated the calming and moving closer process for around two hours until Rin was sat on her mother's lap with the dog atop her own.

Kagome had yet to do anything, even breathe but it was a huge step in the right direction.

Sesshoumaru sat beside them on the sofa and gently stroked the dog before engaging the two females in conversation.

Another hour of distracting small talk later and Kagome wasn't as jumpy, sort of. She was breathing again and she wasn't shaking and she had even started to speak coherently.

Three hours later things had progressed far enough that the puppy was asleep on Kagome's lap. Everyone present was exhausted but also triumphant.

"From now on you will be coming here every day for a meal and will meet with the dog" Sesshoumaru ordered. Sure he had an ulterior motive to wanting Kagome to stay and eat with him, but who cared? It would help her with her phobia and give him a chance to bask in her presence. He'd been alone far too long.

The dreams were a testament to that. It had been so long since he had been plagued with wet dreams and yet now they had become a nightly occurrence. And it was all her fault.

It was taking its toll on him too, after all waking up night after night sweating and cursing your erection was no way to live.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: There is a slight hint of lime in this so for those of you who are uncomfortable with such... you have been warned!

Chapter Six

Kagome knocked on the door and waited patiently for Sesshoumaru to answer as Rin bounced on the balls of her feet at her side.

It had been three months since the first introductions between Kagome, Rin and the pup who Rin had named Sora. And keeping to their word they had appeared every day to eat with Sesshoumaru and the pup.

Kagome had become more relaxed around Sora due to prolonged contact and repetitive meetings. They treated each other with detached wariness and it suited them both fine.

Rin, on the other hand, doted on the pup and in return the pup loved the child and could hardly bear to let her go when it was time for them to leave.

Sesshoumaru was pleased with the progress Kagome was making. She was still uncomfortable being in the same room as the puppy if it was free to move and not being held, but she could deal with being in the same room if Rin was carrying it. And whenever the pup fell asleep Sesshoumaru purposely put the pup on Kagome's lap and she dealt with it. Sort of.

She had asked Sesshoumaru about her other experiences with dogs; where they had jumped her for no apparent reason. He had calmly explained that they were merely reacting to her stress and probably not intending on harming her.

The door was yanked out of their way to reveal a harassed looking Sesshoumaru carrying a duffle bag.

"I'm sorry Kagome" he sighed "my father just called, apparently Totosai an old investor in the shelter and an old friend of the family has decided that he wants his countryside manor fixed up"

"Um… okay" she smiled slightly at his harassed expression.

"The river over flowed it's banks last week and the entire ground floor got flooded so he's asked me to clear the ground floor of everything."

"What about the dogs?" Rin asked.

"My brother is looking after them, it was his excuse to stay here and not help" Sesshoumaru shrugged.

"Then we'll help you!" Rin enthused bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Huh?" Kagome asked raising an eyebrow at her hyperactive child.

"You said we should always help someone in need" Rin insisted.

Kids, the only beings on the planet that can turn your own words against you whilst still being innocent. Kagome sighed.

"Why not?" she shrugged "we'll help"

Rin grinned impishly at her side and Kagome had to wonder that maybe the kid had an agenda of her own.

***

The house had probably once been a sight to behold; to be honest it was still a sight to behold if you observed it from a distance and held out a hand to cover the bottom floor.

It was a western styled manor, obviously modern in design with a small innocent looking river running parallel to it. The grounds were huge, if slightly water logged, and when one looked around in any direction there was nothing to see but trees, sky and more trees.

"Feels like the setting of a horror movie" Kagome noted

"Hn" Sesshoumaru once again fought the urge to roll his eyes at this woman.

Rin only had eyes for the water "Can I go swimming?"

Kagome laughed "You're the one who volunteered us to help, so you should probably start helping"

Rin pouted.

"Cute, but I'm still not buying it" Kagome was equipped with a mothers wisdom and Rin grinned as she realised she wasn't going to get away with it. She wasn't a naughty child, not at all, just not very grounded; she easily forgot promises of labour if something pretty offered itself up to her.

The day was exhausting. Admittedly Sesshoumaru did more work than Kagome did but she was sidetracked constantly by Rin. Whenever the child found something pretty she would take it, run to find her mother, wave it in Kagome's face and then twitter about it for half an hour before running off to find more trinkets.

Even if the two females were more of a hindrance than a help, they were, none the less, company. And that had been something he craved in his life, and yet he had always denied himself that comfort.

Inu's are very social creatures, preferring to surround themselves with pack and as such years of solitude had taken their toll on Sesshoumaru. He was lonely.

The dogs had been an alternative for company. They at least did not resent him, did not want him only for his power as a Taiyokai, they at least were loyal.

But, as he watched Kagome and Rin, the part of him that had been long denied the right of company made its presence known.

Many sparkly things later they declared enough was enough and that they had finished. It had already been decided that the three of them would spend the night in the vacant manner and as such Sesshoumaru was on cooking duty.

Rin, he could hear, was in the bath and he knew that Kagome had taken advantage of the multiple bathrooms and was in the shower.

He tried not to let that distract him. He really did.

But unfortunately his imagination was starved and wanting and soon he found himself drifting into a fantasy. He could imagine her in the shower, her ebony hair dark and soaked clinging to her skin and teasing the tips of her nipples, hardening them for him. He imagined making them harder and tighter. He imagined her losing her self-possession that wavy hair tangled as it fell across his chest and mixed with his own, the flat stomach bucking against him as those long slim legs wrapped around his waist…

Shaking his head he decided that perhaps remaining task orientated would be more conductive to the dinner. He was suddenly wryly glad that his trousers had a roomy cut.

He heard the water turn off and silent willed his erection away, however it was stubborn and he nearly panicked as she entered the kitchen.

"Sesshoumaru" she spoke carefully

"Nani?"

"Do you think..." she trailed off and sighed "just before my husband died I saw a black dog in the middle of the road opposite my house"

His eyes widened. This was bad... yet another reason she was going to hate him.

"Even more so than my phobia I guess I came to associate them with death, like the dog was an omen." She ran a hand threw her hair "stupid right?"

"No" he smiled softly, still with his back to her, hoping the sombre conversation was going to kill his erection some time soon.

She chuckled softly and tried to cast around for a change of subject.

"Rin is refusing to come out of the bath" she grinned as she sat on the chair and blithely wondered why Sesshoumaru hadn't turned around to greet her even though they'd been conversing for some time. "not that you can blame her though, that bath is around the size of an Olympic swimming pool"

Sesshoumaru, thinking he had a hold of himself and any stray body parts, turned to face Kagome and then reconsidered his movement.

She was wearing an old dress shirt she had likely unearthed from one of the upstairs wardrobes. But that was it. She wasn't wearing anything else. So he was free to peruse the silky expanse of her long lean legs.

That was bad.

"Where'd you get the shirt?" he asked

"Wardrobe upstairs she shrugged "I thought there'd maybe be a nightdress or something but this is just as good"

Good. Maybe, but the fact that it was only just skirting her ass cheeks was bad for his blood pressure. The fact that she seemed completely oblivious wasn't doing him any favours either.

Kagome had been studying the painting across the room from her when suddenly she found herself sat on the kitchen table with a suddenly very aroused demon standing between her thighs.

Stunned she sat perfectly still as he began to inhale along the length of her neck like he had just been trapped underwater. The feeling of him breathing in made her squirm slightly and as his lips gently touched the hollow of her throat she decided to just enjoy this, whatever this was. His lips traced the path of her throat to her jaw line and up to her ear. His teeth drew the lobe into his mouth and his suckled and nibbled on it, forcing a moan from his captive.

His finger tips gently traced the curve of her bottom lip before his teeth caught the pouty appendage and suckled and nibbled it thoroughly. She moaned again, more breathlessly and somewhere in her increasingly foggy mind she was grateful he had sat her down, otherwise she probably would've fallen over by then.

He took advantage of her moan to plunder her mouth of its secrets and she was nearly overwhelmed in his passion. It had been so long since she had been kissed like that. She tilted her head back slightly as her tongue joined his in the most ancient dance.

This time the kiss was anything but chaste. His mouth on hers was insistent, crushing. A second later his arms caged her in, one hand moulding to the curve of her hip and the other going up to knot in her hair.

She was pressed up against his chest, her soft breasts against his hard pecs as he overwhelmed her. There was a wash of heat in her lower belly and she bit back the urge to whimper her need to this man who was dominating her.

Her nipples hardened unbearably, the feel of the shirt brushing over them not quite enough pressure for her as she squirmed. Her pussy tightened and she moaned as he pressed his jean covered cock against her moist heat.

"Momma!" a hyperactive voice cut into the room and before Kagome could even identify the voice as her daughter Sesshoumaru was over the other side of the room.

He stood at the sink, his arms locked as he gripped onto the counter and his head bowed as he glared into the sink.

Kagome almost fell off the table; she felt ridiculously abandoned and had to pull herself together to keep the sting of abandonment down.

She jumped off the table as Rin, naked as the day she was born, skidded into the kitchen and giggled.

"Rin?" Kagome was bemused and even Sesshoumaru turned round to grin slightly at the sudsy eight year old who obviously had no modesty.

"I couldn't find any towels" the child shrugged, unconcerned and Kagome laughed, Sesshoumaru joined in soon after.

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha. Thanks so much for your reviews, hope you enjoyed!


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